Happy Labor Day everyone! I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our “BuyNC” Plants partners. One of the ways that we validate our localism is to use as many vendors that are also local as possible, boosting the local NC economy with revenue, jobs, related commerce, and tax revenue. Some other benefits are:

Plants grown in NC are not trucked across the country, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and conserving natural resources.

Locally grown plants are potentially healthier because they spend less time in the stressful shipping environment. Healthier plants mean longer-lasting landscapes!

With North Carolina-grown plants, fewer foreign pests are being introduced to your landscape, which means less threat to the health of your plants!

So – when you buy local, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, decreases foreign threats to the health of our homegrown plants, and keep revenue and jobs in our local economy.

Introducing some of the players –

Several excellent growers are located right here in Guilford County – Buds & Blooms Nursery in Brown Summit grows quality container-grown cold-hardy ornamentals with an exceptional selection of Azaleas, Buddleia, Hydrangeas, Kalmia, Lagerstroemia, Leucothoe, Pieris, Nandina, Spirea, Weigela, Rhododendron, and Roses, along with their popular patented “Summer Snow” Gardenia. Check out their instagram for updates about what’s blooming now.

Next we slide just a few miles to the west to Cam Too Camellia Nursery in N. Greensboro.

Yes, Cam Too Camellia Nursery specializes in LOTS and LOTS of different camellias. Check out their website here to see all the variety. Want a fall bloomer? Think C. sasanqua. Spring means C. japonica, but there are also hybrids and early/mid/late season bloomers to span the seasons. Our own ‘Greensboro Red’ Camellia is one of the most popular. But Cam Too grows plenty of other plants such as Encore Azaleas and perennials.

Next we slide down to McLeansville and Katydid Greenhouses. This Guilford County business is owned and operated by the same folks who own and operate Piedmont Feed & Garden Center in Orange County. So they are both their own supplier of some plant material, as well as supplying us and other garden centers. Their upcoming crops include Pansies and Poinsettias. We’ve also enjoyed their selections of Rudbeckia, Coneflowers, and “Geraniums” (Pelargonium). They grow beautiful Florist’s Cyclamen and forced spring bulbs, too!

Another Guilford County grower is Maple Grove Flower Farm, another outstanding grower of Pansies and other beautiful annuals. One of the great things about having so many quality growers nearby is that if we have an unexpected run on something or get a special request, we can send one of our trucks out to pick stuff really quickly.

In neighboring Forsyth County we find Piedmont Carolina Nursery, another outstanding grower of woody plants and perennials. Among our favorite plants they grow are boxwoods, hollies, dogwoods and redbuds. They specialize in branded plants like the Proven Winners line. They excel at creating treeformed shrubs and at trellising plants, as well as offering unique and hard-to-find plants. You know how I love the weird stuff!

Another Guilford neighbor is Randolph County, home to Gilmore Plant & Bulb in Liberty. Gilmore is one of the oldest nurseries in NC – in operation since 1912! They grow both in containers and in-ground. Field grown material can grow really large before being dug, balled & burlapped for transport. Their plants have been featured at the White House, Disney World, Tryon Palace, NC State Capitol and Legislative Buildings, and the Greensboro Airport.

Another favorite grower is Hawksridge Nursery in Hickory. Their selection of conifers is vast – lots of really cool blue spruces, Cryptomeria, Cotoneaster, and Chamaecyparis. But they also carry quite a lot of natives such as Callicarpa, Cornus, and Clethra. And that’s just the “C’s”!

Hawksridge Farms always has one of the prettiest and best labeled booths at the trade shows!

 

I could go on for days about each of our NC growers and what makes them each unique. But just to name a few more – Johnson Nursery in Willard grows Proven Winners shrubs, perennials, and annuals and are one of the growers that tags & prices for us, saving us time and allowing us to get the plants from the truck to the sales lot quickly. Greenleaf Nursery in Tarboro does this too, as well as Plantworks in Rougemont handles loads of perennials for us this way, and J&B Herb & Plant Farms in Roxboro provides organic herbs likewise. We love them all, and many more way too numerous to mention.

So buy local, buy NC. See you at the Garden Center! And Happy Labor Day.